Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Is there a low carb vegetarian diet? Low carbohydrate plans have a reputation of being all about meat, so you may wonder if it is even possible to be a low carb vegetarian. The good news is that yes, it is possible. However, it is easier with some plans than others, and there are certain things that you need to know.

On average, vegetarians have healthier weights than meat eaters, and this is even more true of vegans. But of course some individual vegetarians are overweight. Lacto-ovo vegetarians who eat milk products and eggs can overdose on chocolate, cakes and desserts like anybody else. Vegans may eat a lot of candy, french fries and processed vegan foods.

There is a big difference between low carb diets for vegetarians and vegans. In order to understand this, you need to know about the nutritional content of diets that are low in carbohydrates. Generally, foods that are high in carbohydrates like sugar, potatoes, bread, pasta and starchy vegetables are switched out of the diet in favor of foods that are high in fat.

For a lacto-ovo vegetarian this is not usually a problem. They will base their diet mainly around cheese, eggs and low carb vegetables with a few nuts and beans. It takes a little getting used to the idea of eating pasta sauce on broccoli instead of pasta, or salad without bread, but it is certainly possible.

Vegans (or vegetarians who do not eat both cheese and eggs) will have a little more difficulty on a low carb diet because it is harder for them to get enough protein without going over the carbohydrate levels. Vegan foods that are high in protein such as beans, nuts and vegetables, while not extremely high carb, are high enough that eating a lot of them could stop you getting into fat-burning lipolysis mode.

Nevertheless it is possible to follow a low carb vegetarian or even vegan diet with a little planning. The South Beach diet is good for vegetarians because it allows beans, nuts and seeds in limited quantities right from phase one. This gives you a much greater choice of foods than the Atkins diet, where these are not allowed in the first two weeks.

The low carb approach is a long term way of eating and should not be seen as a quick fix. Therefore, it is important to be sure that you will be happy on the plan before you start. For some vegetarians who are carrying just a little excess weight, cutting out sugar and refined grains might be enough to bring them back to the healthy weight range. But if you have more to lose or have tried other diets without success, a low carb vegetarian diet could be the answer.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Most guys are being told to follow bodybuilding splits, train multiple times a day, and other non-sense training tactics that don’t work. What tips do you have for people looking to build muscle as fast as possible?

The key to making consistent size gains is making consistent strength gains (in a hypertrophy rep range) while eating enough food and allowing enough time for recovery. You need to constantly be doing more weight or more reps. The body will respond to any given stimulus one time and one time only. If you place the same demands on it a second time (like pressing the same weight for the same reps) nothing will happen. You must always be forcing it to adapt and thus you must always ask it do something it isn’t used to.

The easiest way to do this is add more weight or do more reps with the same weight.

Aside from making consistent strength gains the next most important thing to consider is training frequency. To improve anything in life you need to do it frequently. Building muscle is no different. So you want to train a muscle as frequently as possible, while it is in a fresh and recovered state. This means that you should be training each body part once every 2-5 days, and not once a week like a lot of the muscle mags recommend. That’s too little frequency. The more times you can stimulate growth throughout the year the better. Obviously 104 growth stimulating workouts per year for each body part would be a lot better than 52.

I have seen the phrase “stimulate, don’t annihilate” on your blog in reference to training. Can you explain what you mean by this and the relation to training volume?

To elicit a training response you need to present the body with a stimulus that it isn’t used to. This stress will cause the body to adapt. The body adapts by building itself up bigger and stronger.

Where people go wrong is that they think they need to annihilate the muscle in order to elicit any type of response. This is completely counterproductive. When you annihilate the muscle with tons of sets and reps and intensity techniques like drop sets you drastically increase your recovery time. And as I mentioned previously, frequency is very important. So when you increase your recovery time you have to decrease your training time. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. The key is to do just enough to stimulate size and strength gains but not annihilate yourself so that it takes forever to recover, or worse- that you put yourself in a state of overtraining.

Triple Threat Muscle is your new program. What separates this program from all the others and can you tell our readers why you created it?

My Muscle Gaining Secrets program is specifically geared toward skinny guys, hardgainers and beginners. This is more of an intermediate/advanced program that is more athletically based. So while the main focus is still on building muscle there is also a shift toward a bit more speed work, mobility and conditioning in Triple Threat Muscle.

The new program was created for the typical weekend warrior or Average Joe who wants to look and train like an athlete but doesn’t actually have the time or recovery ability to spend more than a few hours per week in the gym.

I spent the last two years experimenting on a wide group of individuals to come up with the most effective and fastest way to do this. Triple Threat Muscle is the result of two years of hard work and is based on all of my findings.

And finally, what general tips can you give to our readers who want transform their bodies?

Strength train 3-4 days per week. Lift heavy and keep most of your sets in the range of 3-10 reps. Don’t go to failure. Train each body part 2-3 times per week. Don’t do more than 12-16 total sets per workout. Always strive to get stronger. Eat natural, organic foods and avoid anything processed. Sleep 8-10 hours per day. Minimize stress. Get out in the fresh air and sun more often.

[Note: I’m an affiliate for the provider of goods and services mentioned in this post and as such may be compensated if you make a purchase.]

Monday, March 29, 2010

As you’ve may have heard me say before (and if you haven’t, you’re going to hear it now!), when you are breaking through a fat loss plateau or trying to get to the Final Phase of leanness, things get a bit murkier than they do with traditional fat loss.

Rather than dieting excessively in order to create a calorie deficit, we are now looking to enter into energy debt...and we do this with intelligently designed training protocols. That’s because keeping energy intake high ensures that Leptin levels don’t drop and throw another hormonal monkey wrench into the machinery.

You see, when you’re getting very lean or you’ve hit a plateau, fat loss is not just about calories in vs. calories out. It’s about your hormonal environment and the way that affects fat storage, and thereby fat loss.

When you’ve lost the first 20 or 30 or whatever pounds, you’ve lost the "easy" fat. What you’ll notice about your body is that you’re now holding fat specifically in your trouble areas; and those trouble areas are determined by your specific hormonal environment.

It’s not just about energy debt or cardio or to a lesser extent, diet (although all of those things do factor in quite a bit, obviously). When your fat loss has stalled and you’re trying to break through that wall, or when you’re trying to rid yourself of those last stubborn 5-10 pounds, it’s a hormonal battle.

And there is only one way to win: fight hormones with hormones.

So, let’s look at the three specific hormones that cause the most common types of regional fat storage.

3. Cortisol - The appropriately dubbed "stress hormone" is part of the reason you’ve got more flab than ab.

There you have it...those are your enemies!

Now, I want to talk to you about how you can actually increase the production of other hormones through the manipulation of training methods in order to offset the above mentioned "bad" hormones.

In this corner...

Estrogen vs. Testosterone

Now that we’ve established estrogen is the main reason lower body fat storage occurs, we need to know how to work around that.

Well, how else would you combat estrogen but with testosterone?

To put it bluntly, when it comes to fat loss and muscle gain...

Testosterone GOOD - Estrogen BAD

It’s for that reason that professional athletes, bodybuilders, and the juicers down at the Jersey Shore use illicit steroids that are derivatives of testosterone.

Of course, that’s not an option for us - and certainly not desirable.

Instead, we are going to increase testosterone levels naturally; through training. Not only will this increase the net fat-burning effect of all exercises, but more appropriate to our purposes here, it will also facilitate in getting rid of lower body fat.

I should mention something here to alleviate any concerns. It is NOT possible to produce a detrimental amount of testosterone through training. So ladies, you don’t have to worry about any masculinizing effects.

Instead, training produces what we would term a "high" amount of testosterone from a physiological perspective, relative to what your body normally produces. For the guys, this means that such training will help you put on a bit more muscle - just not steroid muscle.

Got it? Okay, moving on.

At this point, I know you’re thinking, "All right Roman, get to the point, what do I do?"

Great question! Well, the answer is Density Training.

Training in a way that seeks to increase training density is one of the best ways to spur your body to produce and release more testosterone, which will (obviously) help you lose that estrogen related fat storage.

Training density can be defined as the amount of work you do in a given amount of time during a training session. So, if you want to increase density, you can...

(1) Do more work (sets, reps, or both) in the same amount of time

OR

(2) Do the same amount of work and decrease the time in which you do it

However, I’ve come up with a method of Density Training that is specific to radical fat loss! This means that not only will you produce the testosterone necessary to mitigate your regional fat issue, but you’ll also lose more fat on the whole.

Pretty cool, eh? So here is how we do it...

As an example, let’s pick 3 exercises: the overhead press, the dumbbell row, and the squat.

Setting these up in a circuit fashion, you perform them one after another with little rest in between.

Sounds like just about any circuit training protocol, right?

WRONG!

Instead of having a set number of reps, we’re going to be performing each of these exercises for TIME - you simply have to do as many as you can in a given time period.

To make it easy, let’s say you did each of the above exercises for 30 seconds. In performing such a circuit, your results might look like this:

Overhead Press - 25 pound dumbbells for 20 reps

DB Row - 40 pound dumbbells for 18 reps

Squat - 100 pound barbell for 22 reps

Not too shabby. Now, HERE is where it gets crazy.

We’re going to take advantage of some cool things that happen in the body; triggers that will make you more efficient and more capable.

So, to do that, we’re going to INCREASE the weight by 10-20% and try to do MORE reps.

Does that seem impossible? It isn’t.

Due to neuromuscular junction and neural activation, in almost ALL cases, you’ll be able to do just that.

Your second attempt at that circuit might look like this:

Overhead Press - 30 pound dumbbells for 23 reps

DB Row - 50 pound dumbbells for 20 reps

Squat - 120 pound barbell for 25 reps

Now, I know you’re having trouble believing that outcome is even possible (much less common), but I implore you, try it for yourself!

Density Training is fun, challenge-based, burns a heck of a lot of fat, and most importantly, is one of the best training modalities around for increasing testosterone production and release. And that’s why training for increased workout density will help you shed stubborn lower body fat AND more fat on the whole.

Insulin Resistance vs. IGF-1

Insulin resistance is combated very nicely by a hormone called IGF-1, or Insulin-like Growth Factor One.

Producing extra IGF-1 via training will help you (and me!) improve insulin sensitivity and begin to rid ourselves of our love handles and lower back fat.

We know that insulin resistance is very common, particular in people who were previously overweight. So, if you have lost some fat and you’re now struggling to lose a bit more (and that fat happens to be in your love handles), I’m willing to bet you’re suffering from some degree of insulin resistance.

In order to get rid of that fat, we need to do fat burning workouts (obviously) and increase insulin sensitivity to the greatest degree that we can. As a result, we need to employ what I call Dynamic Training.

Dynamic Training is pretty much the over-arching concept of how I design fat loss training programs; it consists of using fast-paced movements to teach the body how to move more efficiently.

Because this style of training is extremely expensive in terms of energy (calorie) demand, Dynamic Training is excellent as a general fat loss modality.

Perhaps more importantly however, is the fact that utilizing these types of exercises and setting them up in a non-competing circuit fashion under the Dynamic Training umbrella is an incredible way to produce IGF-1. And doing that is one of the most effective methods to mitigate insulin sensitivity.

Take it from someone who knows!

Nothing is better for combating love handle fat than increasing insulin sensitivity - and like I said, one of the most effective ways to do that is to produce more IGF-1 through Dynamic Training.

Cortisol vs. Growth Hormone

And now we come to our final bout of the evening--the main event, as it were.

We have touched on cortisol a bit, so I won’t rehash that too much. Suffice it to say that the higher your cortisol levels are, the more fat you’re going to be storing on your belly. Given that fact, it stands to reason that if you store fat primarily in the abdominal region, you’re a victim of high cortisol.

Never fear, though: Growth Hormone is here!

Also known as the "Fountain of Youth", growth hormone is the single most effective compound your body can produce to affect both fat loss and muscle gain. The more of it you produce, the faster you’ll lose fat and build muscle. It’s just as simple as that.

Now, in addition to that awesome little fact, growth hormone is going to whoop cortisol’s ass AND help you burn belly fat.

Also, you’ve probably heard that one of the ways to reduce your cortisol levels is to get more sleep. That’s something you hear on nearly all of the medical TV shows. What you don’t hear is the reason.

You see, sleeping is one of the main ways by which your body produces growth hormone. In other words, while you're sleeping, it’s your body’s primary opportunity to produce growth hormone. And, as I stated previously, growth hormone is one of the main hormones that reduces the effects of cortisol.

So, sleep more and you’ll produce more GH! Produce more GH and you’ll have less cortisol! Therefore, sleeping more, results in lower cortisol levels. Got it?

Of course, I’m not suggesting you can just sleep your way past a fat loss plateau (although getting more sleep does help). I’m merely illustrating the relationship between cortisol and growth hormone.

Which leads us to the production of growth hormone as it relates to training...

While nearly all forms of exercise produce both growth hormone and cortisol, some types are better than others.

For example, cortisol is heavily produced in long duration cardio sessions. But let’s not do that.

Instead, we’re going to utilize a style of training that produces more growth hormone...Lactic Acid Training (in order to get to the growth hormone, you must first produce lactic acid).

By definition, lactic acid is a by-product of the chemical reactions that take place during exercise. This substance is wildly irritating to the nerves, and your body responds. Think of lactic acid as a type of oil...igniting fires as it flows through you. Your body will put those fires out by dousing them with soothing, cooling growth hormone.

Okay, maybe I’m being a little simplistic with my metaphor, but it gives you a general idea.

In any event, we must structure training to produce the most lactic acid possible. And because lactic acid is primarily produced in the concentric (positive) phase of anaerobic exercise, we will extend that period, and decrease the eccentric period.

What that means is that we lift the weight very, very slowly. And then we lower it very, very quickly so that we can have a fast turn around.

As an example, if you’re doing a squat, you’ll descend to the bottom of the squat very quickly (drop down fast, but still controlling the weight somewhat) and then lift the weight sloooowly, oh so sloooowly - over a period of 4-6 seconds.

This will create tremendous amounts of lactic acid, which will in turn send GH production into overdrive.

Now, I must mention that training in this way necessitates the use of lighter weights than you would normally use on any given exercise. Therefore, if you’re interested in Lactic Acid Training, I suggest you reduce the weight you’d use on any exercise by about 30% in order to be both safe and effective.

With traditional training methods, you’d lift the weight pretty quickly and lower it slowly. Here we’re doing the opposite, in order to produce the most lactic acid possible...which will then lead to a corresponding increase in the production of growth hormone.

This will result in not only reducing cortisol, but also reducing cortisol related fat storage in your belly. And on top of it all, it’s great for fat loss in general!

Closing Thoughts

Although the battle against hormone-related fat storage can be a tough one, it’s certainly easier when you have hormones on your side - tougher, stronger, better looking hormones! So...

- And combat the ol' love handles and insulin resistance with Dynamic Training and IGF-1 production.

With Final Phase Fat Loss, stubborn becomes easy. Slow becomes fast. And it's all because every single workout within the Final Phase system has been specifically created to combat the hormonal reasons you're NOT losing fat.

So, are you ready to start losing fat again? Are you ready to finally see your abs? Then click *HERE* to get going!

The finish line is just around the corner...

Keep going strong,

Roman

Friday, March 26, 2010

Getting ready to hit the beach? You want a good swimsuit figure but you don’t get a swimsuit body overnight. It takes time. The good news is, if you start now, you will be well on your way to a great body by the time you hit the beach.

Start by keeping a picture of your dream swimsuit nearby to help keep you motivated to eat healthier. Don’t be hasty and go out and purchase your swimsuit before you get into shape. Wait until you feel good about yourself and the work you've done to tone up. Then shop to your heart’s content. The bonus is the closer you get to summer the more sales you'll find!

Eating for your summer body is not about starvation. For someone to stick to a new way of eating, it has to become a lifestyle change. This means that your diet has to provide both healthy foods and a few pleasures to keep you interested.

Increase your whole grains. Grains contain a lot of fiber. Fiber keeps the digestive system working properly. No one wants to be bloated in their new swimsuit! Fiber grabs onto fat while it gets digested. Fiber also keeps you feeling fuller longer so you don’t overeat.

Drink your water. Water is crucial in everyone's diet. It keeps the human machine in proper working order. Water cleanses the inside of toxins that can harm the body and make it harder to lose weight.

Eat more often. To get the best your body has to offer, you need to feed it the good stuff a little at a time, all day long. Consider more fruits, vegetables, lean meat, fish and dairy. Eat whole fresh foods to get the best nutritional value and fiber. Avoid highly processed foods which miss many of the nutrients your body needs. More frequent lighter meals also increases your metabolism.

Limit the sweets. Empty calories add fat and will sabotage your efforts to lose weight and look great. If you must have something sweet, try having one small piece of dark chocolate or a bowl of frozen yogurt. Even a fruit parfait or a smoothie will tame that sweet tooth without any damage to all your healthy eating.

Get sleep. Without proper rest, the body can’t repair itself and get you ready for the next day. Stress is also more of an issue and that can lead to increased levels of cortisol in your system. This hormone is your enemy if you want to lose belly fat.

Remember, there are no quick fixes to weight loss. Choose a healthy lifestyle that includes good food, exercise, and plenty of rest and your fitness will last far beyond one swimsuit season – your good health will last a lifetime.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

For years, concerned consumers and watchdog organizations have been screaming that the U.S. labeling laws are full of loopholes and in need of serious revision. After years of talk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they’re planning to so something about it. But will it be enough?

There are many food labeling issues we could complain about, but one of the biggest problems (due to its direct relationship to the obesity crisis) is serving sizes.

I’m not just talking about supersizing. What’s worse is that the actual calories are being disguised with serving size sleight of hand.

Let me show you some examples:

Tostitos touch of lime. Calories per serving: 150. Not too bad for tortilla chips, eh? Not so fast. Check that serving size: 1 ounce. That’s a whopping 6 chips. There are 10 servings per container. That’s 1500 calories in the bag.

Most guys could knock off half that bag for a cool 750 calories. Ok, suppose you have some restraint and you only eat a third of the bag (20 chips). You still get 500 calories. But who stops at 6 chips?

Vitamin Water. While I could rant about how sugar water is being marketed as health food, I’ll stick with the serving size sleight for now.

The label says there are 50 calories per serving. Wow, only 50 calories! Plus they add all those vitamins. Must be good for you and perfect for dieters, right? Think again. Look at the serving size and servings per container: 8 oz per serving and 2.5 servings per container.

Excuse me, but is there ANY reason for making it 2.5 servings other than to disguise the actual calorie content?

When you see that the entire bottle is 20 ounces, you realize that it contains 125 calories, not 50. Although 20 ounces is a large bottle, I don’t know many guys who wouldn’t chug that whole thing.

Sobe Lifewater? Same trick in their 20 oz bottles.

Healthy Choice soup, country vegetable. They make these in convenient little microwavable containers with a plastic lid. Just heat and eat.

It says 90 calories and 480 mg of sodium per serving. Wow, less than a hundred calories. Wait a minute though. Turn the container around and you see the serving size is 1 cup and the servings per container says “about 2.”

Huh? It looks pretty obvious to me that this microwave-ready container was designed for one person to eat in one sitting, so why not just put 180 calories per container on the label (and 960 mg of sodium). I guess 90 calories and 480 mg sodium sounds… well… like a healthier choice!

Ben and Jerrys chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.

This infamously delicious ice cream with its own facebook fan page has 270 calories per serving.

We all know ice cream is loaded with calories and should only be an occasional treat, but 270 calories per serving, that’s not too terrible is it?

Look a little closer at the label. The serving size is ½ a cup. Who eats a half a cup of ice cream? In fact, who hasn’t polished off a whole pint by themselves? (the “comment confessional” is below if you’d like to answer that)

According to Ben and Jerry, there are 4 servings in that one pint container. 270 calories times 4 servings = 1080 calories! That’s about half a days worth of calories for an average female.

I could go on and on - crackers, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, pasta, boxed cereals (who eats ¾ cup of cereal), etc. But I think you get the point.

What’s the solution to this mess? News reports in the last week say that the FDA may be cracking down. Count me among those who are pleased to hear this news. One of their ideas is to post nutritional information, including the calories, on the FRONT of the food labels.

The problem is, this move by itself could actually make matters worse. Suppose Tostitos started posting “150 calories per serving” right on the front of the bag. Most people would assume the chips were low in calories. Putting calorie info on the front of the label would help only if it clearly stated the amount of calories in the entire package or in a normal human-sized serving!

Ah, but the FDA says they’re on top of that too. They also want to standardize or re-define serving sizes. Sounds great, but there are critics who say that consumers would take it as approval to eat larger servings so the strategy would backfire.

Suppose for example, the government decides that no one eats ½ a cup of Ben and Jerry’s so they make the new serving size 1 cup, or half the pint-sized container. Now by law the label says 540 calories per serving instead of 270. Is that like getting official permission to eat twice as much?

I’m not against the FDA’s latest initiative, but what we really need is some honesty in labeling.

Food manufacturers should not be allowed to manipulate serving sizes in a way that would trick you into thinking there are fewer calories than there really are in a quantity that you’re likely to eat.

It would be nice to have calories for the entire package listed on the label at a glance. A new rating scale for caloric density would be cool too, if it could be easily interpreted. It would also be nice to have serving sizes chosen for quantities that are most likely to be commonly eaten. But standardization of serving sizes for all types of foods is difficult.

My friends from Europe tell me that food labels over there are listed in 100g portions, making comparisons easy. But when you consider how much each individual’s daily calorie needs can vary (easily 3-fold or more when you run the gamut from totally sedentary to elite athlete, not to mention male and female differences), standardization that applies to everyone may not be possible.

I think the recent laws such as requiring calories on restaurant menus are a positive move that will influence some people’s behavior. But no label changes by themselves will solve the obesity crisis. A real solution is going to have to include personal responsibility, nutrition education, self-discipline, hard work and lifestyle change.

Changes in the labeling laws won’t influence everybody because the people most likely to care about what labels say are those who have already made a commitment to change their lifestyles (and they’re least likely to eat processed and packaged foods - that have labels - in the first place). Actually, for those who care, all the info you need is already on the labels, you just have to do a little math and watch out for sneaky label tricks.

There’s one true solution to this portion distortion and label lies problem: Become CALORIE AWARE. Of course that includes educated label reading, but it goes much further. In my Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle system, here is how I define "calorie counting:"

1. Get a good calorie counter book, chart or electronic device/software and get to know the calorie counts of all the staple foods you eat on a daily basis. Look up the calorie values for foods you eat occasionally.

2. Always have a daily meal plan – on paper – with calories printed for each food, each meal and the day. Use that menu as a daily goal and target.

3. Educate yourself about average caloric needs for men and women and learn how to estimate your own calorie needs as closely as you can based on your activity, weight, body composition, height, gender and age.

4. Get a good kitchen food scale and use it.

Keep counting calories and doing nutrition by the numbers until you are unconsciously competent and eating the right quantities to easily maintain your ideal weight becomes second nature.

Obviously, saying that calories are all there is to nutrition is like saying that putting is all there is to golf. Calorie quality and quantity are both important. However, it’s a mistake to ignore the calorie quantity side of the game. Serving sizes matter and even healthy foods get stored as fat if you eat too much..

You can play “blindfolded archery” by guessing your calories and food portions if you want to. Hey, you might get lucky and guess right. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend depending on luck - or the government - for something as important as your body and your health. I would recommend the personal responsibility, nutrition education, self-discipline, hard work and lifestyle change…

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com or http://bit.ly/bHKSN3

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I don’t know if you if you’ve ever met Vince Del Monte, seen his videos or his pictures but he’s pretty much a “go to guy” for muscle building advice online.

You may know Vince as the guy who was once called “Wimpy Skinny Vinny” and gained 41-lbs of muscle in 6-months then went on to become a National Fitness Model Champion and author.

What you may not know is that Vince couldn’t crack 190-lbs and hit a crazy rut after – probably very similar to your own rut. 190-lbs became his “limit” and according to the experts – a plateau he should have accepted as “normal” and not questioned.

But over the last 2-years, Vince has made a DISCOVERY!

That discovery helped him gain an ADDITIONAL 20-lbs of lean muscle the past 2-years. He contributes busting through his plateau to his discovery of the “The 12 Anabolic Targets” (which works for beginners, intermediate and advanced lifters alike).

[Note: I’m an affiliate for the provider of goods and services mentioned in this post and as such may be compensated if you make a purchase. As always please note the Compensated Affiliate Disclosure at the sidebar!]

Monday, March 22, 2010

I've just spent another weekend explaining what Turbulence Training is to new potential clients. By the end of the day I had my speech memorized, and decided to turn it into a new article for you called, "The 5 Laws of New School Fat Loss".

Here goes...

Turbulence Training is a structured routine that I came up with that allows you to get the most results in the least amount of time, no matter what your goals.

This revolutionary new workout system evolved from both scientific principles as well as personal experience.

And it originally came to me in a dream in University. (Just kidding.)

The truth is that during my graduate years at University, I was searching for an efficient and effective way to stay lean while I was stuck in the lab for up to 16 hours a day doing my thesis.

Obviously, I didn't have a lot of time to exercise...

So I based a new program on what I had read in hundreds of fat loss research studies, as well as my countless past workouts that I had recorded faithfully over the years.

And from that research and from my own personal workouts and results, Turbulence Training was invented and have given rise to the 5 Laws of New School Fat Loss.

Law #1) Use intense resistance training

NOTE: This doesn't just mean lifting heavy weights...it could also mean doing difficult bodyweight exercises or even explosive exercises (like I use in the TT circuits).

Here's why...

Intense resistance training stimulates what is called muscle protein turnover. This is important for two reasons:

a) It causes your body to burn extra calories and belly fat when you are not training (so while you recover, etc.).

b) It stimulates muscle re-modeling.

That means it will help you maintain your muscle (and sculpt your body) even while you are eating fewer calories and burning fat.

However, if you rely only on light weight & high reps, you won't keep that muscle and your metabolism will decrease.

Law #2) Switch from slow cardio to interval training.

Research shows that interval training is more effective for burning belly fat than regular cardio - even when you don't change your diet!

Interval training is what separates people with 20% fat from those men and women with the lean, athletic, sexy abs body type.

Interval training also builds better sport conditioning and "everyday fitness" that is more practical in life.

For example, how often do you ever need to run 5 miles? Pretty much never, right?

But how often do you need to climb a few flights of stairs or chase one of your kids? Those are every day demands...and will be best improved by interval training, not 30 minutes on the elliptical machine.

Law #3) Use non-competing supersets to do more work in less time.

By using the Turbulence Training system of non-competing supersets, where you do 2 unrelated exercises back to back, you'll avoid muscle fatigue and get more work done in less time.

This is one of the major reasons Turbulence Training is so efficient and effective.

Law #4) Use Total Body Workouts

Skip the classic steroid-bodybuilder method of doing one body part per day. That will only give you overuse injuries and a big body set up for more injuries & chronic pain in the future.

Not what you want, right?

Of course not. So switch to three total-body workouts per week, using a variety of exercises, and when possible, using a variety of training methods - from dumbbells to kettlebells to bodyweight exercises. That's what you'll get in the latest TT workouts here:

The Turbulence Training workouts are changed every 4 weeks, and sometimes every 3 weeks for advanced results.

Why?

To avoid the dreaded fat loss plateau. If you've been doing the same workout over and over for more than 4 weeks, your results will slow down and eventually come to a complete stop.

You MUST change your program...and that's why I create not just one, but TWO new Turbulence Training workouts every month for TT Members, so that they will always have a new program to keep their fat loss results moving along.

In fact, the Turbulence Training System is simple to adapt and easy to modify for the creation of an endless number of workouts - a great thing to know if you are a personal trainer or simply someone that loves the body transformation results of a fast workout.

Whew!

Now a lot of this info was new - and even shocking - to the people I spoke too yesterday. They were still a little skeptical. And that's fine, it's totally natural.

So I suggested they try out the program for a few weeks, and you can do that too with the 21-day trial here:

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph body type? To maximize your results, regardless of whether your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, it’s helpful to know your body type and adjust your approach according to your type. But a big question that almost no one has ever answered is, “Does your body type change over time?” If so, then what? Do you have to totally change your nutrition and training again? And if your body type doesn’t change, does this mean you are stuck being a fat endomorph for the rest of your life, doomed because of genetics? Read on to find out.

Somatotype is a 3-part, 7-point body type rating scale developed by a guy named Sheldon back around 1940 or so. Ectomorphs are the linear, bony, lean types, mesomorphs are the naturally muscular body types (yeah, the ones we hate!), and endormorphs are the ones with the round body shapes and the genetic tendency toward storing more body fat.

Generally, you have a combination body type, which is why you are scored with 3 numbers (Arnold Schwarzenneger in his bodybuilding prime: think pure mesomorph with the highest score of 7).

The question is, Does somatotype change? this is a very interesting question that has been asked and debated before both by the layperson (often bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts) and by scientists.

Two of those scientists were JE Lindsay Carter, a physical education professor from San Diego State University and Barbara Heath, and Anthropologist from the University of Pennsylvania.

There was initially a lot of debate and antagonism provoked by the classic Sheldon system of classifying human body types (“somatotyping”), because initially, Sheldon was very rigid in his insistence that body types were permanent and did not change.

However, Heath and Carter proposed that it was plain to see that body types DID change due to normal growth, aging, physical training and dietary deprivation (they cited the Minnesota starvation study, where subjects started out looking somewhat mesomorphic and ended up looking like ectomorphs (like POW camp victims, literally).

Heath and Carter weren’t trying to dismiss somatotpying, they supported it and wanted to validate it.

However, they wanted to address the shortcomings of the somatotyping method and one of those was the fact that the Sheldon system didn’t accommodate for changes in physique as a result of training and nutrition.

In their voluminous 1990 textbook on the subject, Heath and Carter define somatotype as:

“A quantitative description of the present shape and composition of the human body. It is expressed in a 3 number rating, representing three components of physique: (1) endomorphy, (2) mesomorphy and (3) ectomorphy. The somatotype can be used to record changes in physique and to estimate gross biological differences and similarities among human beings. This method of somatotyping is sensitive to changes in physique over time and is used for rating both sexes at all ages.”

Look at a guy like John Bartlett for example, one of our inner circle contributing authors and an outstanding natural competitive bodybuilder. When you see him today and you ask what is his body type, you would say, “MESOMORPH all the way!”

That’s because today he is ripped and muscular

But if you look at his before picture and ask “what is this guy’s body type” you would say, “Endomorph” all the way or at least “endo-mesomorph” because he did have a solid and stocky build before, but also a high body fat percentage.

Well, which is it? Or did his body type change? Clearly, John gained a lot of muscle and lost a lot of fat and looks totally different today. So could we say his body type changed? If we go by current outward appearance, then yes, absolutely.

But does this mean his body type really changed or did he overcome an inherent endomorph body type to achieve where he is now?

Or, to play devil’s advocate here, was he always a mesomorph inherently and he just really let himself go for a while and he was just returning to his normal body type of mesomorph?

These are interesting questions. The Heath-Carter method simply includes body composition as part of the rating scale of a person’s body type and says that you can rate someone based on how they look now. That includes bone structure (which changes little or not at all after adulthood) AND body composition (which can change throughout life). So you could say John was an Endomorph and is now a Mesomorph. Predominantly Mesomorph is his present classification.

However, at the same time, we could say that a person DOES have an inherent body type or set point - a physique that they will gravitate towards in the absence of circumstances or concerted efforts to change it.

I addressed this issue of changing body types versus an inherent (or “permanent” body type) in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM). The way I explained it is that I said your true body type is what you will gravitate to naturally when you are not in a highly trained state. It’s your inherent tendency. In that respect, you could say somatotype does not change, while body composition does.

In chapter 5 of BFFM, I said there were three additional ways to know your inherent body type beyond Sheldon’s scale, which takes into account changes in physique due to training and nutrition:

How you looked before you took up training (your “natural” body shape)

How you respond to training and nutrition (ease of muscle gain or fat loss)

How you respond to de-training (how well you retain lean mass and low body fat or how quickly you lose lean mass and gain fat on cessation of training)

If you wanted to make this even MORE complex, we could look at somatotyping by considering not just the outward bone structure and body composition of an individual, but also the metabolic (interior) characteristics.

That would be a pretty good three-part body typing system that covers the concerns about changing body types, individual metabolic types (“carb intolerant types” or protein types, etc), and genetics (which is especially relevant since obesity genes have been identified fairly recently).

I hear criticisms of the somatotyping system all the time, where people say it is not useful. I disagree. Yes, it’s perhaps too crude of a system to base your entire training and nutrition plan upon, but I believe it’s very helpful as a general tool to “KNOW THYSELF”.

In other words, if you are inherently an endomorph and you KNOW IT, then you know darn well what happens when you don’t do any cardio. You know what happens when you cheat four or five times in a week. You know what happens when you slack off. You gravitate towards gaining fat, because that is your body type’s tendency! So you can adjust your training, nutrition and lifestyle accordingly.

If you are an ectomorph, then you know what happens when you skip meals… you don’t gain any muscle! You know what happens when you do too much cardio… you don’t gain any muscle, or you lose some!, etc. etc.

And if you’re a mesomorph…. did I mention…. we hate you!

If you’d like to learn more, chapter 5 in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscleis about body typing. It’s full of some really valuable and motivating lessons about knowing yourself, your body and your genetics and understanding the importance of taking personal responsibility, regardless of your hereditary predispositions. If you already have the book, it’s worth re-reading periodically.

P.S. Just kidding mesomorphs… we don’t really hate you, we just envy you!

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://bit.ly/azCORj or http://bit.ly/bHKSN3

Thursday, March 18, 2010

My friend and fitness author Jon Benson sent me this email. I have his permission to share it with you, despite the really personal details... turns out that he had a near-fatal event in the gym and wanted to share the story with his readers. I was blown away by what he did in the name of "preventative medicine"... so read this. It may just save your life.

Sometimes you have to nearly lose it all to realize what you truly have.

I can honestly say that I have come close to death several times in my life. I've had my share of accidents, medical emergencies, and a near-fatal accident while driving.

But there was something about just laying on the gym floor today with two doctors hovering over me that gave me serious pause.

Time for some major reflection.

Now, before you get too alarmed (for those who know me, or just think I'm a pretty good guy... ; )... fear not. I did not have a stroke or anything like that, thank goodness.

What I did have was a major drop in blood pressure... so much that I came dangerously close to entering the "coma" zone.

I kid you not.

And trust me... I felt like I was slipping fast.

My girlfriend was there with me. I had her kneel down and, just like Spock in an old episode of "Star Trek", I had her slap me several times in the face. Hard!

"If my eyes roll back, hit me harder."

The doctor probably thought I was nuts... but I know that's one way to elevate my blood pressure.

So, what happened? Am I falling apart at the relatively young age of 46? Is my dietary and exercise advise dangerous after all?

No... and here's why:

I actually VOLUNTEERED for this.

Before you think I've totally lost my marbles, hear me out. If you listen to the rest of the story, you'll see that not only has my advice been of great value when it comes to exercise and dietary strategy... it actually ended up saving my butt!

If you read my first book, published in 2004, called "Fit Over 40" (read more at http://fitover40.rxsportz.com then you may recall that I went into great detail about my poor genetics and horrible health in my early and mid-30s.

Since then, and knowing exactly how bad my genetics are for such things as high blood pressure (oh, the irony!), heart disease, and stroke, I adopted the dietary plan and exercise routine I use to this very day. The very ones I cover in "The Every Other Day Dietplan" and "7 Minute Body."

(If you don't have these books and want them, you can get both here... http://eodd.rxsportz.com-- oh, and I have a short video up on this page if you have not seen on a 1-minute fatloss tip... )

Now, let's get real folks: Dietary power and exercise MAY not be enough to overcome really bad genetics when it comes to certain diseases. And being ever curious, I wanted to know exactly how my own health was doing on my plan. So a month or so ago I paid a visit to the hospital to have some tests ran. All my yearly check-ups were okay, but I wanted a closer look at my heart... and I mean "literally".

I wanted to be "cathed"... this is where they insert a camera into your heart, going up the femoral artery in your right leg, and take a look around. If they find anything dangerous, like a clogged artery, they can fix it right then and there with a stent. A stent is a metal device that presses plaque against the artery wall and opens up a clogged artery.

Of course I hoped I would not find such a thing... and certainly nothing worse. I mean, can you imagine? "Mr. Benson, you need a quadruple bypass!"

I could not, that's for sure... and I was fortunate because, as you probably guessed, I didn't hear those words from my doc.

It's hard to get a cath done as it's a risky procedure. I can't even tell you how I managed to pull it off ... that's how touchy the hospitals are when it comes to this kind of stuff. Afterwards, I volunteered to do 5-10 workouts at their heart care facility so I could hook myself up to some nifty gadgets. I get to watch my EKG (how my heart is functioning during cardio and weights... and it works like a charm!) and really nice doctor folks come by to check my blood pressure (which is always low) during the workout.

Yep... the doc and I wanted to put my workout plan to the test, I guess you could say. I wanted to do it just to make sure I was 100% healthy during my training. You never really "know" I suppose, so I was up for it. And my doctor wanted me to do it just in case what he found during the cath was serious. There's a lot to this process, and there's some details I don't wish to cover for privacy sake... but anyway, back to my story.

It's long, but it may save your life too. : )

----------------------------------------- The Good News... The Bad News... And The Stupid Jon News! -----------------------------------------

Turns to find out I made a few mistakes... some pretty costly mistakes... but (get this) none of them had to do with my dietary or exercise plan.

During the cath, here's what the doc said:

"Jon, your heart's two primary arteries look good... hardly any obstruction at all. And they are nice and thick from exercise." For a guy who has had a cholesterol level of over 400 before, and a history of heart disease in the family, this was really good news.

"However, your genetics are catching up to you in one of your arteries.... and you need to be more aggressive with your drug treatment to make sure we don't have to go back in here one day!"

Er... what??

Yep... turns out that the only thing that saved me from a BYPASS (that's right) was what the doctor called "an enormous amount of peripheral arteries formed from years and years of weight training and exercise."

Wow.

"Look right here Jon..." (He showed me my beating heart on camera... freaky...) "See all these arteries? Well the average person doesn't have them. You do. Congratulations... you earned them."

Wow again. And remember, I only workout with weights 3-4 times per week and my workouts are rarely over 21 minutes (time under the weight.)

----------------------------------------- What I Did Right... And What I Did Wrong... And Why This Could Save Your Life -----------------------------------------

So, listen up folks as I'm about to tell you everything I did wrong for the past several years... how it ALMOST cost me dearly (a bypass?... no thanks!)... how I managed to prevent it... and how I ended up on the gym floor today with doctors all around me.

It's all related. And again, sorry for the novel-like email, but (again) this may save your life.

First, here's what my excellent cardiologist said I did RIGHT:

1. Exercise: "Jon, your exercise plan, to put it bluntly, saved you from a great deal of pain... in fact it probably saved your life as these blockages would have been far worse without it." With it, I had only one artery with enough blockage to warrant the drug therapy that I should have been on for years... more on that in a second...

2. Dietary plan: "Jon, your diet is perfect for this condition... low in carbs, high in protein and healthy fats is all anyone can do in order to help fight this genetic killer." Yep... again... prevention in the form of dietplan saved my butt. Or rather my heart. : ) But it wasn't enough... at least for one artery. However, it WAS enough to prevent them from having to do surgery on me.

"Jon, the take-away here is simple: Exercise and dietary plans, even the very best, may not be enough for super high-risk people... but in your case your lifestyle saved your life. And it certainly prevented you from having to have any serious surgery to correct a truly broken heart."

Talk about EXCITING news... yep... you CAN beat this killer, even when you have MY horrible family genetics. However, like me, you may need some help... more on that in a second.

3. Blood pressure: "Jon, your blood pressure is excellent. Your lifestyle and very low-dose diuretic has kept your formerly sky-high blood pressure (it was 200/110 when I was 32!) to an excellent 118/78." But you know doctors... even "excellent" isn't enough and they recommended a stronger BP med for "my intense weight training."

So, I listened... and ended up on the floor today. You see, many doctors do not realize the POWER of weight training compared to cardio. My blood pressure never budges during cardio, but less than 3 minutes into a resistance (weight-training) session it goes down like the stock market after a bad news day.

I mean SHOOTS down. I tried to explain this by letting the doctor see the veins in my legs... "Doc, my veins are MUCH larger than the average person's... trust me, my pressure is fine." "Jon, just try it for a few weeks."

Bad mistake.... like I said, I ended up on the gym floor today with a blood pressure of 72/45. If I hit 40, I'm literally in a coma. 5 points away... very scary. Needless to say the doc took me OFF these meds and let me do it my way: With my Every Other Day Dietplan (low-carb most of the days) and good-old exercise.

If you have high blood pressure, I URGE you to take up weight training or resistance (body-weight or band) training. Of course, ask your doc about it first... but I've seen first hand for three weeks now how powerful my weight training sessions are compared to intense cardio sessions.

They are night and day folks... weights RULE. Cardio is good, but weights are best. Both of course would be the best course for ultimate health, but most people do far too much cardio and far too little resistance training.

1. Cigars: "Jon, you cannot afford to smoke cigars... ever. They have lowered your protective HDL to a dangerous level. Stop NOW!" That's all it took folks. Yes, I smoked cigars for many years, but fortunately I was never an addict. I quit that very day.

Guess what? 10 days later my HDL DOUBLED (no kidding)... and without drugs. Of course that's not all I did...

2. Fat too LOW: "Jon, you've lowered your dietary fat too low... this affects your HDL." Yep, I normally eat about 35% dietary fat... and I cut it down to 20% to help me get ready for a photoshoot. Now that I put it back to where it belongs, I still have my abs (yep!) and my HDL is raising as I type.

3. Stress: "Jon, you are simply working too hard not to do some form of meditation or de-stressing." So I dove back into my meditation CDs. (I'll tell you more about Holosync and my hypnosis CDs in my next email... very cool stuff.)

4. Advil: "Jon, you take 4 Advil before you train? You're nuts! That stuff can cause sticky plaque formations!!" You know, I may never even had an issue if I had known this (and not smoked cigars) a few years ago. Live and learn!

5. And finally... oh, this hurt to hear... no drugs! "Jon, if you want to make sure you beat this thing, you simply must take some meds to help." Okay, I resisted any form of statin drug for the past 15 years (drugs to lower cholesterol.) I opted to try natural stuff... but unfortunately for me I was never too consistent. And I paid the price.

So the doc and I came to a compromise: I would take the LOWEST dose of statin along with 400 mg of CoQ10 (scary, but this was my idea, not his, and statins deplete this heart-friendly enzyme!) But I wanted a natural solution to the real issue: small particle LDL. You see, I've known for years that I carry the gene that makes LDL "small". LDL is not dangerous unless it is small... that's why "total cholesterol" means nothing to me. I've seen folks have heart attacks with a cholesterol level of 130. No joke. But their LDL was super-small... like mine.

And guess what? Dietplans cannot really help this. Well, they can HURT it (too many carbs, too many toxic fats, etc.) but they cannot shift the LDL from small to large.

For that, you need plain old niacin. Just a simple B vitamin... but in not-so-simple doses. In fact it's considered a drug at the dose you have to take, and you should NEVER take niacin over 50 mg without a doctor's supervision as it can be very toxic to the liver.

----------------------------------------- The Conclusion: The Power Is In Your Hands -----------------------------------------

In conclusion, I'm A-Okay... my heart pumps and functions "like that of a strong 20-year-old" (my doctor's quote) thanks to the extra arteries I developed from my exercise program (how cool!) ... but in order to keep that one artery in check, I'm taking his advice and taking much better care of myself than I have been.

Today I learned that this does NOT mean taking blood pressure meds...thankfully... : ) But I had to make some changes. Some of them were "stupid" changes... sure, I know cigars are not good for you. I know you need good fats in your dietplan. I could have used common sense and figured out that 4-8 Advil on workout days was... well, stupid.

But the good news, which is what I choose to focus on, is this: In the areas that 95% of people NEVER change, I didn't have to change much at all.

Dietary plan and exercise.

Turns to find out that what I was doing works great... and it did, in fact, save my heart and quite possibly my life.

P.S. I got lucky in many ways, but especially so when it came to my doctors. Both of my doctors are young and savvy enough to be up on the latest research on nutrition. They know NOT to buy into this "low-fat" nonsense for heart health. (I'd use a harsher word, but kiddos may be reading... : ) That only works for about 10-15% of the population. The rest of us need to lower our CARBS, not our fats... but the way I do it I get to keep my favorite carbs in my dietplan every week.

The little that I do eat keeps me happy as a clam, and keeps my heart nice and healthy too. A little bit of bad food will not hurt most people... but eating it every day can flat-out kill you.

Please... take this seriously. I promise, my dietplan and exercise routine is a PLEASURE to follow... but if you don't follow it then find one that IS enjoyable for you to follow... and do it.

Life is too short, you know?

[Note: I’m an affiliate for the provider of goods and services mentioned in this post and as such may be compensated if you make a purchase. As always please note the Compensated Affiliate Disclosure at the sidebar!]

[Note: I’m an affiliate for the provider of goods and services mentioned in this post and as such may be compensated if you make a purchase. As always please note the Compensated Affiliate Disclosure at the sidebar!]

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

This is always tough to admit, but nutrition is more important than your workouts when it comes to fat loss.

And since diet is more important than exercise, I've decided to spend a lot time sharing nutrition tips this week, starting with these 5 diet secrets:

1) Your nutrition program doesn't have to be extreme.

Hold up on making any extreme diet changes. Make sure the nutrition plan you've chosen is sustainable. Simple diet changes go a lot farther than you might think.

Why not just eat more whole, natural foods rather than trying to go on an impossible-to-stick-to ultra-low carb extreme plan?

2) Get the junk out of the house.

If it's in your house, you'll eat it...and trust me, this goes for me too. When I visit a relative's house for holiday, I always eat the treats they have sitting around. That's why I keep the junk out of my house.

So whatever your weakness is, keep it out of your home.

Success is that simple.

3) Fill in the "diet-killing" gap.

For some folks, the diet-killing gap is between work and dinner. For others, it's between dinner and bedtime, but for almost everyone, there is a point in the day when we suffer from mindless eating.

So make sure you have alternatives...as soon as you come home from work, cut up vegetables and dip them into hummus. That will keep you full on a small amount of calories.

After dinner, if you need something sweet, stir up chocolate protein powder into a small bit of plain yogurt. That will satisfy you.

4) Chew your food 5-10 times before swallowing.

Most people eat so fast they only about 1-2 times. You'll really notice a difference and you'll slow your eating so you feel full.

5) Have a bowl of broth-based vegetable soup before a meal.

American researcher Barbara Roll has published a lot of studies showing that this will help you reduce the food you eat. Surprisingly, consuming just water doesn't seem to do the same trick.

Monday, March 08, 2010

If things just aren't going your way with your nutrition program right now, then I have a solution for you.

Veggie nutrition expert Kardena Pauza has just created a new "21-Day Veggie Detox Diet Plan" that will help you kick-start your weight loss the safe and healthy way.

Each day outlines what to eat and includes portion size guidelines, PLUS it also includes her secret daily habits that help detox the negative energy and stress from her busy 50-hour training schedule and living in busy rush-rush-rush Southern California.

You'll discover how to start your day off in a positive mind set and little things you can do at night to calm your flustered mind.

Combined, this nutrition and mental detox program will have you looking and feeling 10 years younger, and probably 10 pounds lighter as well.

You'll get the 21-Day Detox as part of the Easy Veggie Meal Plans System here:

PS - Once you complete the 21 Day Detox, continue eating healthy and small portions throughout the day. This is where the Easy Veggie Meal Plan program will guide you through regular day-to-day nutrition.

[Note: This posting is intended to make you aware of the availability of this program. It’s not a personal endorsement since I haven’t used it. I’m an affiliate for the provider of goods and services mentioned in this post and as such may be compensated if you make a purchase. As always please note the Compensated Affiliate Disclosure at the sidebar!]

Friday, March 05, 2010

Just over a year ago I was in Tampa, Florida, at another fitness seminar.

Between sessions, a physician from Georgia stopped me in the hall and said, "Hey Craig, you were right about those crosstrainer machines. I've had your program for a few months now and I'm getting better results with metabolic resistance training."

It's always great to meet clients, and I was curious to find out how he heard of me. Turns out, he found me through Google, landing on an article I wrote about "how elliptical machines (crosstrainers) suck for fat loss".

That's right, I think those crosstrainer-elliptical machine doohickeys are almost a complete waste of time.

"I was using one of those machines for a long time and wondering why I wasn't getting any results," the physician continued, "I'm so glad I found your program", he added.

I told him how I wasn't surprised.

In fact, I've never known anyone to get great results with one of those crosstrainer machines. Nope, it's diet and metabolic resistance training that really gets people results.

Now I know some people will be angry with what I have to say because they like exercising on the crosstrainer, but the truth is that they just don't work as well as metabolic resistance training.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? That’s right up there with “How do I get six pack abs” as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time.

The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers - even from experts who are supposed to know these things.

So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

There's now a definitive answer, which is backed by science and real world case studies:

YES - you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time!

Natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert Tom Venuto has just published a new ebook on the subject that explains it in detail, called:

"The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program: how to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time"

You've probably heard me speak about Tom Venuto before. I have so much respect for his work, and I think everyone should follow what he’s doing as well...

Tom has definitely hit a home run again with this new "holy grail" book.

The Holy Grail is a 74 page ebook that is destined to set the record straight in a way that you could say it's the LAST WORD on gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time;

It's impressively referenced with peer-reviewed research and frankly, it just makes sense.

New discoveries in the emerging sciences of within-day energy balance, nutritional periodization, nutrient timing and natural hormonal manipulation have pointed the way to a proven method of achieving simultaneous muscle gain with fat loss...

...and it's NOT what most people think!

There's NO magical workout program or supplement that assures you of gaining muscle while stripping off fat. It takes hard work.

This is not an easy goal to achieve - So if you're looking for magic bullets, go elsewhere. This is a serious, scientific and very strategic program.

But for anyone who is serious about getting leaner AND more muscular, you just have to take a look.

Here's a sample of what you'll learn inside the "Holy Grail Body Transformation System ebook:

* The keys to forcing your body to drive energy and protein INTO MUSCLE CELLS and pull calories OUT OF FAT CELLS! (page 13)

* The power of hormones to dramatically shift fat to muscle... discover what steps you must take to achieve hormonal control for maximum muscle growth and fat loss (page 13)

* The 4 "X-Factors" of concurrent muscle gain and fat loss - these are the special conditions that allow above average muscle gains while losing fat at the same time (page 9)

* The 5 "X2-Factors" that influence your ability to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time; They all depend on your current body composition (lean or fat) and dieting status (dieted down or not dieted down)... Depending on which category you're in, it can totally change your approach (page 11)

* How to choose the right body transformation goal: should you focus on burning fat, gaining muscle or doing both at the same time? (page 14)

* How to steal the proven system of training periodization from world class athletes and apply it to your muscle-building and fat-burning goals...

* How nutritional periodization might be the single biggest breakthrough for building muscle and burning fat at the same time - This is HUGE! (page 17-21)

* Carb tapering and carb targeting strategies explained for 2010... These are the latest updates to the time-tested techniques used by some of the best bodybuilders, fitness models and figure competitors in the world (page 24-25)

* Cycle dieting techniques under the microscope... find out which methods work and which ones will actually make you fatter (page 27)

* 4 reasons why cardio can help you gain more muscle and lose fat at the same time, if you do it right... and why you will get weaker and smaller if you do it wrong (page 33)

* Burn the Fat Foods 2.0: ... the official new calorie and nutrient data base - it's a CLEAN EATING food list - NO JUNK This is the list of foods you SHOULD eat... (appendix 3)

* Tom Venuto's NEW WORKOUT SYSTEM - "TNB" Training - As Seen in Men's Fitness Magazine ... the perfect way to train while following the Holy Grail nutrition plan (FREE BONUS! See bonus section)

Here's the deal:

From now until Midnight (PST), March 5th, 2010, you can get a copy of the Holy Grail Body Transformation program ebook absolutely f-r-e-e when you join Tom's Fat Loss Support Community from this web page: http://bit.ly/bHKSN3

The Burn The Fat Inner Circle is an amazing fat loss support community and I encourage you to visit the following page to learn all about this group of supportive fat loss achievers and how they can help you accomplish your own goals...

If you're not a member of Tom's "inner circle" then this is a better opportunity than ever because you can get the Holy Grail ebook as a bonus along with the all the fabulous tools, forums, calculators, and downloadable resources waiting for you inside the site.

(not to mention, Tom is often found personally helping members inside the Inner Circle forums and while he can't possibly help everyone individually he sure tries to help as many people as possible!!)

This offer expires on March 5th, 2010 at midnight PST and it will be taken off the market for at least a couple of months before it goes up for sale on its own, so I highly recommend you visit the Burn The Fat Inner Circle website now and jump on this great deal while you still can. Here's the link again: http://bit.ly/bHKSN3

After you click the link you will be brought to the Inner Circle page that tells all about the site.

1. Read that letter and see how awesome the community is and everything you get.

2. After you join you will be able to instantly access the "Holy Grail" ebook inside the Private member's only area.

I think you're really going to love the Inner Circle and get some awesome information from Tom's newest ebook!

Sincerely, Arthur M.

PS. Remember, all Inner Circle members there are getting instant access to the "Holy Grail" transformation program this week up until Friday the 5th. More info on Tom's inner circle at:

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